The EC Makes Public, the Decision Concerning Intel's Abuse of Dominant Position

It was May when the European Commission made a rather shocking announcement; that goliath chip manufacturer, Intel, was indeed guilty of using it's dominant market position to force computer manufacturer's to support its product over competitor AMD. Today, after nearly 5 months of wondering exactly what went on behind close doors, the EC has deci... [ Read full article ]

"By undermining its competitorsí ability to compete on the merits of their products, Intelís actions undermined competition, reduced consumer choice and hindered innovation. On the basis of a significant amount of contemporaneous evidence and company statements, the Decision demonstrates how Intel broke the law."

Serves Intel right to get hit with a fine. Forcing companies to use their CPUs when AMD clearly offered better products. Thanks to them, there's also many people out there that think Intel are better than AMD because AMD CPUs caused the computer to crash more.

Dammit, that's a nasty list of charges there. It really does make me feel a little guilty for my current rig, although at the time, P2 wasn't available. It certainly explains a few things about AMD's market availability back then (although there were certainly a number of other non-Intel reasons as well).

As often as the EC seems to be run by asshats, I doubt anyone smaller has the power (or inclination) to pursue these kind of charges as needed. So I'll give them a tip of the hat this time around.

Wait a minute... Is this the same European Commission (EU) that socked Microsoft for somewhere around a billion dollars in fines for the same reason? It's been a good decade for those leeches. It seems that any non-EU multi-billion dollar corporation that doesn't heed their wishes gets smacked in the face and ordered to pay up or else. The EC is now whining that internet explorer that comes bundled with windows is anti competitive. For f_ _ k sakes! If you don't like it, don't use it! The European Union is acting like a spoiled little child and should be spanked! In my opinion, this newest witch hunt against Intel is tantamount to extortion. Microsoft has already stated that IE will not be shipped with Windows 7 to Europe (named Windows 7E) The european consumers suffer this time.
Everytime massive fines like this are paid, we the cosumer end up paying for it. Usually by increased prices or quality of the products we purchase.
If the EC doesn't like Intel, Microsoft and the way they do business, why don't they pool their trillions of euro, use their european collective mind and create some tech of their own instead being the schoolyard bully? I wonder if the money from all these fines gets distributed to the companies who either are feeling the pinch or say they are.
By no means am I saying there are no underhanded tactics going on. All I'm saying is if it's happening on a small scale the EC doesn't appear interested. As soon as a potential payoff has more than seven 0's at the end of the figure, they're all over it. The tech industry is a cutthroat business and as such there will always be some companies getting injured as a result. If corporations like Microsoft and Intel can't stand up to the EC, who can?

Wait a minute... Is this the same European Commission (EU) that socked Microsoft for somewhere around a billion dollars in fines for the same reason? It's been a good decade for those leeches. It seems that any non-EU multi-billion dollar corporation that doesn't heed their wishes gets smacked in the face and ordered to pay up or else. The EC is now whining that internet explorer that comes bundled with windows is anti competitive. For f_ _ k sakes! If you don't like it, don't use it! The European Union is acting like a spoiled little child and should be spanked! In my opinion, this newest witch hunt against Intel is tantamount to extortion. Microsoft has already stated that IE will not be shipped with Windows 7 to Europe (named Windows 7E) The european consumers suffer this time.
Everytime massive fines like this are paid, we the cosumer end up paying for it. Usually by increased prices or quality of the products we purchase.
If the EC doesn't like Intel, Microsoft and the way they do business, why don't they pool their trillions of euro, use their european collective mind and create some tech of their own instead being the schoolyard bully? I wonder if the money from all these fines gets distributed to the companies who either are feeling the pinch or say they are.
By no means am I saying there are no underhanded tactics going on. All I'm saying is if it's happening on a small scale the EC doesn't appear interested. As soon as a potential payoff has more than seven 0's at the end of the figure, they're all over it. The tech industry is a cutthroat business and as such there will always be some companies getting injured as a result. If corporations like Microsoft and Intel can't stand up to the EC, who can?

Amen there mo'power, probably couldn't have come close to saying it better then that

My personal feelings regarding the Microsoft witch hunt do mimic yours mo'power,
and initially I felt similar about the Intel case, HOWEVER after reading this press report about exactly WHAT Intel did, and the proof provided by companies such as HP, Dell and Acer, regarding the enormous kickbacks they received for not selling AMD products, I unquestionably have to side with the EC.

Reading between the lines, you will notice that even giant corporations such as HP were desperate about the amount of money they would loose by not agreeing. Yes, it is a dog eat dog world, and he who has the money has the power, but such underhanded tactics is a disgusting display competition.